


These Are The Signs (of The Heavens)

by t_writes



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic, 十二大戦 - 西尾維新 | Juni Taisen - Nisio Isin
Genre: AU, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Zodiac War, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Anxiety, Flashbacks, Gen, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Juuni Taisen - Freeform, Memory Loss, Sort Of, Temporary Character Death, Violence, like a lot, platonic, twinyards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:28:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23230963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_writes/pseuds/t_writes
Summary: Andrew did not sign up for this. Except that he did. Now it was kill or be killed during the 13th Annual Zodiac War. What's left of the Twelve families have come together for what may be the last time to fight for the chance to have any wish granted. Only one can win and the least Andrew can do is give it all up for his brother.Created based on art by bastgrr on Tumblr.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19
Collections: AFTG Reverse Big Bang 2020





	These Are The Signs (of The Heavens)

**Author's Note:**

> This is based loosely off the anime Juuni Taisen, as per the prompt, and it's pretty interesting so if you want more of this world it can be found on crunchyroll. (Also called Zodiac War).
> 
> Thank you so much to Madison who did an amazing job helping me detangle this story and making it readable!! You can find her at makebelieveanything on Tumblr :)
> 
> This is kind of a wild ride, so read with caution, mind the tags, and let me know if I need to warn for anything in particular!

**Prologue**

“What impressive lineage,” the Seller said thoughtfully, hand sweeping across his mouth, “son of the Butcher of Baltimore, the ferocious warrior of the Rabbit. Your mother, too, came from a clan of warriors. The Boars? Though she never participated in a Zodiac War.”

The mutant snorted, eyes flashing an inhuman amber in the setting sun. The Seller’s office had an impressive view of the sunset over Baltimore. From a high floor near the top of the Trade Center, the mutant could see the blood orange sky reflected off the blue-green waters of the Patapsco River.

“Are you looking for private sponsorship in the upcoming event?” the Seller asked. He sat behind a desk made of sleek black metal. Nothing lay atop it save for a closed Manila folder with the mutant’s birth name stamped on it.

“No, I’m requesting,” the mutant ground out, “that you decline to have it in Baltimore at all.”

“I’m surprised one of your families hasn’t offered you up yet,” the Seller’s dark eyes narrowed, ignoring the mutant. The Seller was a bit young to be sponsoring wars, but not old enough to know the story of the Butcher’s son. “Mind telling me what a perfectly eligible warrior of two of the Twelve Families is doing going against an organization like 12 Wars?”

“I just need to know if you can stop them from coming here,” the mutant growled, running out of patience more quickly than he’d like. He could feel his handler restraining him telepathically from the floor below.

“It’s not a matter of my ability. I just don’t see why I would want to,” the Seller smirked, “Do you know how much they are paying to… borrow a city of this size?”

“You asked why I hadn’t been offered up to 12 Wars yet,” the mutant took a breath and allowed it to steady him. The Seller tilted his head in acknowledgment. “One might say I dodged the draft,” the mutant said darkly.

“When I was 16 my father killed my mother,” the mutant continued, “his family swore up and down that it was temporary insanity. That Nathan Wesninski wouldn’t have laid a hand on my mom—” his voice broke, but he pushed on—“if he had known it was her. But, I know that’s not true. The Butcher hated my mother for not loving him more than she loved me. She was using her family connections in the UK to get me out. Her brother was going to come to get me within the month.

“Naturally, after the Butcher… I ran. And my uncle killed Nathan before he could name me the next Zodiac War representative for our families.”

“That’s quite a story,” the Seller furrowed his brow. “But, it’s been some years since, hasn’t it? Why not return to your family? Why not continue their legacy? It is the highest honor—”

Faster than the mutant’s handler could rein him in, the mutant had thrown a dagger across the room and lodged it into the shoulder of the Seller’s suit, pinning him to his office chair. The Seller, shell-shocked, only stared, his mouth hanging open.

“His legacy is blood. And the only honor I’m after is dying to destroy the machine before it destroys the world.” It took all of the mutant’s restraint, and a little of his handler’s, not to kill the man where he sat. His family, his real family, is counting on him _._

**Hour 1**

“Now that everyone has arrived, welcome to Baltimore for the commencement of the 13th Zodiac War. Everybody, clap your hands!” Duodecuple called out, voice hollow in Andrew’s ears.

Duodecuple, the 12 Wars announcer for the Zodiac War, strode forward into the center of the magnificent ballroom. He wore a three-piece suit and carried a cane with an ivory hook. The chandelier above sparkled luminously, flames flickering from each of the one hundred wax candles sitting in its boughs. The room should have been warmer for all the flames glinting along the walls in brass sconces. The floors were polished dark marble with mother of pearl inlay in places making it appear as though the stars glowed beneath their feet. 

Andrew looked around cautiously as he and his twin, Aaron, entered the ballroom. A long banquet table ran along the left side, piled high with food. His eyes caught on the sweets but he was too wired to eat. He doubted Aaron would be too happy if he approached the table at this point in the event anyway. Nothing was as it seemed during the Zodiac War. 

Nourishment turned to poison. Enemies to allies. Great destinies to poor fates.

The ten other participants milled around the grand, empty room. Andrew recognized the Sheep, Tiger, and Ox immediately. The Sheep was David Wymack, a Zodiac War veteran, and a force to be reckoned with despite his age. Nicky Hemmick represented the Tiger. He was one to watch. No one had ever survived him in one-on-one combat. And the Ox:

The Moriyama family sure was excellent at waging war. Their son was no different. Riko represented them proudly.

Andrew’s lip curled at the sight of him. 

“Drew,” Aaron said, voice soft, dangerous.

Andrew rolled his eyes and assumed an air of boredom as he glanced around at those he did not recognize. Only the families of the Monkey, Rooster, Horse, and Dog would be left. As far as Andrew knew, the families of the Boar and Rabbit had forfeited and no one had seen any Rat representatives in the last 12 years. 

A tall dark man entered the ballroom with a blonde woman on his arm. Both looked graceful and deceivingly like civilians. They must have been the couple, Andrew noted, judging by the way they held each other. It wasn’t unheard of for Zodiac families to intermix, but it happened infrequently enough that it made for a spectacle. Seth Gordon and Allison Reynolds. The representatives of the Rooster and Horse respectively. 

Allison was dressed head to toe in black. Andrew knew from experience that there were weapons hidden in the fashionable cut of her clothes. Seth was more overtly militaristic in camo pants with an automatic weapon strapped to the back of his tall, dark frame.

Andrew flicked his eyes to the remaining two in the other corner of the ballroom. He hadn’t bothered to research them. Even Aaron had to admit to their insignificance. He almost pitied them, those that would be the first casualties of the Zodiac War.

Aaron jabbed Andrew with his elbow to get his attention. Andrew turned, annoyed when he heard Duodecuple clear his throat dramatically. 

“This year shall be a little different! In the spirit of variety, we have set a time limit on the event. You will have twelve hours to defeat your opponents and return to me. Then, as advertised, 12 Wars will grant you one wish, any wish,” Duodecuple smiled, his mouth full of shiny, ivory teeth. 

There was an odd moment of silence as each of the participants looked around the room, sizing each other up. Andrew felt the alien eyes of strangers burning into his body. He did not flinch. 

“Of course, there is one small catch,” Duodecuple continued suddenly, much to Andrew’s displeasure. 

“Here we have trackers,” Duodecuple gestured grandly to several men in black suits entering the ballroom with silver platters. Each carried three minuscule black devices. The men wasted no time in placing the devices on each of the Zodiac members. Andrew clenched his jaw and ground his teeth at the sensation of another person invading his space. They pinned the tracker on him and it attached itself to his skin, sending a sharp zing through his body that reverberated out to the tips of his fingers and toes. 

“They will serve to keep an eye on you,” Duodecuple winked. “They will transmit the pain of those who also wear the trackers back to you, so you will feel in real-time any wound you may inflict on them!” Andrew thought Duodecuple was far too cheery. He suddenly thought of slitting his throat— _that wouldn’t cause me any pain at all_ , Andrew thought, glancing at Duodecuple’s tracker-less throat... 

“Let’s commence!” Duodecuple waved his decorative cane with a flourish. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke which plumed up to the ceiling, drawing their attention to the large digital clock counting down the twelve hours in huge, red, looming numbers.

Faster than Andrew could react, Riko leaped to attack the perceived weakest links. Dog and Monkey did not resist. Andrew felt a sudden rush of disgust fall over him in a wave of nausea. _Those who will not fight for their lives do not deserve to live_ , Andrew’s mind reminded him unhelpfully. 

Even as Andrew thought this, his heart squeezed with some other unknown emotion, lost to the roil of his gut at the sight of Riko’s ferocity. Already dead, Riko hung them by their own intestines— an act of pure compulsion. Violence and vehemence were to be expected from the Ox. The revelry was all Riko; he savored the sight of ruin. 

He didn’t even flinch at the pain.

“Fuckin’ overkill,” Andrew muttered. The others had scattered. Only Aaron remained, and he was too shocked to tell Andrew to shut up. 

Riko flicked his red-rimmed eyes to where the twins stood. His face contorted into a look of pure disdain. Blood dripped from his fingers. A red hand-print was smeared on his slacks where he had haphazardly wiped them.

“What did you say low-life scum?” His voice reverberated oddly in the mostly empty ballroom. Every taut line of his compact body was poised to spring. 

Aaron physically restrained Andrew by putting an arm around his shoulders. Andrew tensed but made no move to break out of his brother’s iron embrace. 

“You didn’t even announce yourself,” Aaron said as though he were chastising the feral animal before them for his incivility.

“They were going to die anyway,” Riko glanced away, scanning the room. Casting around for his next victims. They had all scattered at the sight of his brutality. 

“That wish will be mine.” Riko’s voice was like gravel. It was a warning.

A sharp crash broke their concentration. Andrew dragged his eyes away from Riko’s deadly, well-dressed form. 

Andrew followed Aaron’s gaze to where Tiger had upended the food tables. All of the cakes and sandwiches and meats and vegetables and fruits tumbled unceremoniously to the floor.

“Sorry! Oh, Christ,” Nicky stumbled, drunk-like, against the table’s legs which were now suspended in the air. “So sorry…didn’t mean to interrupt your little macho-stare-down…” He trailed off, forgetting all about the twins and Riko in favor of chasing a few grapes rolling down the upended table.

When Andrew looked back to Riko the other man had disappeared. Andrew suddenly felt as off-kilter as Nicky looked. He shrugged off Aaron’s restraining arm and stalked forward to where the Ox had been. He reached up to where the Dog and Monkey were hanged by their innards and tugged them down. Andrew put them back together as much as he could before grabbing the table cloths from the disheveled banquet tables to shroud their disfigured silhouettes.

He stepped back about ten paces then took a deep breath before releasing it in a huge sweep of flames. Andrew watched, satisfied, as the two bodies were enveloped in the last warm embrace they would get on this earth. 

“Drew!” He heard Nicky’s voice but opted to ignore him. He watched intently as the flames danced higher, almost touching the decadent chandelier over his head. 

“Andrew,” Aaron snapped.

“What?” he drawled, without turning around, just to spite his brother. 

Aaron’s hand wrapped tightly around Andrew’s bicep with venom only the Snake could exude without saying a word. Andrew continued to stare into the fire until the stench of burning flesh became too much and Aaron’s hand turned icy where it gripped his arm. 

“Yes?” Andrew said calmly, finally turning to Aaron and by extension Nicky. 

“Hello, cuz!” Nicky’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “How’s about a team-up?”

“You been drinking again, Hemmick?” Andrew didn’t make eye contact with Nicky but tipped his head to indicate he was listening for an answer. 

“No,” Nicky said simply, feigning innocence. Of course, Nicky didn’t drink. It was an act to throw off his opponents. Anyone who didn’t know him personally would assume he wasn’t to be taken seriously. That snap judgment would get them killed.

“Of course,” Andrew allowed his reluctant cousin a small smirk. Nicky warmed immediately.

“Ok,” Aaron began, “So here’s what Nick and I were thinking.” 

  
  
  


**Hour 2**

Outside the Monument Hotel, they make their way cautiously along the abandoned street called Aliceanna. Andrew had never been to this city, and there was nothing of interest in its unfamiliarity. They remained parallel with the river as they passed a million and one tourist trap locales, from bars that sold alcohol to bars that specialized in oysters. Andrew couldn’t allow himself to zone out, but the temptation was there.

Soon they came upon a wooded area. It wasn’t dense, likely a man-made park at the edge of the water. Another tourist attraction, or at the very least an attempt at environmental conservation. They had not planned on stopping, but an eerie scream from within the forest had the boys stopping in their tracks.

Nicky’s eyes were comically wide, eyebrows raised to his hairline.

Andrew ignored him in favor of turning his attention to his brother. He didn’t look happy. Not that he ever looked particularly happy. The closest to mirth that Aaron’s face ever got was when it was distorted in the reflection of Andrew’s unmedicated grin and uncontrollable laughter. 

The man-hole next to them shifted abruptly, creating a large clattering of noise, the sound of heavy metal against the solid, dirty pavement. Andrew crouched down and watched as whoever was below struggled to lift it. Aaron was at his shoulder in a flash, watching the rusty disc shift and rattle at a halting pace.

What emerged was a fiery-haired, bronze-eyed, mutant of no uncertain or insignificant heritage.

“Is it normal, nowadays, to sneak into a competition one has been disqualified from?” Andrew asked, his voice bored but his body electrified by the idea of a wild card. They had not accounted for this. 

The mutant had a determined expression on his face that said this was exactly what he was expecting to find. Andrew didn’t like it. 

“Who is this idiot?” Aaron griped. He stood at Andrew’s shoulder, arms crossed, frowning. 

Andrew didn’t reply but a sharp glance back at his twin brother said _we’re about to find out_. 

“I’m Andrew, Warrior of the Dragon. Killing for money.” Andrew stepped away from the mutant in the hole in the ground in invitation. The stranger flicked his amber eyes to Andrew’s brother but otherwise didn’t shift an inch. 

“I’m Aaron, Warrior of the Snake. Killing for money,” Aaron repeated, sounding bored. 

“I am Neil Josten, Warrior of the Fox,” he mimicked disdainfully, “killing swiftly,” Neil growled. Then he leaped. 

Andrew sidestepped the Fox easily, but at the last minute, Neil changed trajectory and took aim at Aaron. Andrew grunted with the effort it took to catch up with the mutant. Neil’s eyes were a flash of amber in the damp street light. Andrew didn’t even see him pull the weapon.

Andrew resorted to throwing his body between Neil and his brother. Aaron, at the last moment, grabbed Andrew by the shoulders and propelled them a couple of hundred feet into the sky, but not before Neil caught him on the ear with a sharp instrument.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Aaron accused, his ear smarting. Andrew glanced up at his brother with an expression that accused him back. Aaron rolled his eyes. Below, Neil scrambled to regain his bearings. He glanced at Nicky, then turned his eyes up to the twins as they floated back down slowly.

“You just gave our position away,” Nicky noted, disarmingly sober. 

Neil nodded in agreement, though it was clear he was not listening to Nicky. He had his palm pressed to the side of his face, and his index finger pressing a small black radio into his ear. Andrew watched curiously as Neil’s expression jumped from serious to outraged to calculating. This whole encounter was giving him goddamn whiplash. 

Aaron didn’t release Andrew’s shoulders even after their feet touched the ground. For once Andrew was glad of it, he didn’t know what he would do to this stranger whose very presence was a threat to their survival.

“Yes, the implant was successful. Activate channel five using code ten-four,” Neil said mechanically. 

Andrew grew impatient, throwing a look back at his brother to express as much. Aaron just nodded jerkily at the sound of something that Andrew could not hear. 

“What’s going on?” Andrew twisted free of Aaron’s grip to get a look at him. His eyes were far away and his head was tipped as though he were listening closely to something or someone. 

Andrew turned on Neil immediately, intent on doing…something, he wasn’t sure what but it was going to be violent. 

“What the fuck did you do to—” Andrew growled, voice increasing in volume until he got cut off.

“Drew give ‘em a second.” Nicky had come to stand beside Andrew. He looked suspicious but otherwise unbothered that this _mutant_ had obviously implanted one of them with gods know what. He huffed in frustration, glancing quickly between Neil and Aaron. Neil was looking at Andrew, his startling eyes clear and full of steel. Looking closer, Andrew could see the little bit of blue hidden in the folds of his irises. 

Aaron looked like he had regained his composure, looking less like a zombie and more like he was listening to music, what with all the head-nodding he was doing. 

“We’re going to hear them out,” Aaron said with finality, turning his attention to Andrew, hazel eyes calm in a way that unsettled Andrew. Whatever they had done to him— Andrew couldn’t do anything about it by fighting. “Take the earbud that the mutant gives you.”

“Just Neil is fine,” Neil muttered, reaching into his pocket and producing two earpieces, one for Andrew and one for Nicky. Nicky puts his earpiece in right away, all drunk-enthusiasm. Andrew raised an eyebrow at him but Nicky didn’t even spare him a sideways glance, eyes far-off listening to something emitting from the earbud. 

_Fuck_. 

Andrew placed the bud in his ear. _I mean what the hell,_ Andrew thought, _I’m going to die anyway._

“Andrew Minyard?” A woman’s voice says calmly. Something odd settled over Andrew at the sound of her soft tenor. 

He only hummed in response. 

“My name is Dan. I am one of the Foxes, and we are attempting to put an end to the Zodiac War. How does that sound?” It sounded like lunacy. Andrew would know. Andrew shrugged, not caring that Dan definitely could not see him.

“With this plan, we could guarantee you and your family’s survival,” Dan said as though Andrew had answered. 

Andrew snorted. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Neil approach his brother and cousin. He tensed, ready for a fight, but something blocked his feeling of unease from fully developing.

“Is that you?” Andrew said, breath shaky with the sudden knowledge of a wall in his mind that he had not placed himself. 

“Yes. Can you feel that?” Dan sounded surprised.

Silence.

“What other tricks do you have up your sleeve?” Andrew asked, trying to maintain a detached tone, though he knew the mutant could sense and manipulate his emotions at will.

“A master tactician, for one. Look, this plan _will_ work. We are going to put an end to this,” Dan said with a level of certainty Andrew had never known. Andrew looked at his brother who was doing his best impression of a wet cat as Nicky caught him in an energetic headlock. 

“And all we have to do is?”

“Follow Neil into the manhole,” Dan said simply.

Andrew glanced at the mutant where he was already half-in-half-out of the hole in the ground. If all else failed, they would default to their original plan. There was no harm in wasting a few hours down in the sewers, far, far away from Riko.

All at once, a loud shriek emitted from within the forest, louder and more piercing than the last time. The scream cut off abruptly and the sound of movement in the forest in the distance grew closer and closer until it was upon them. Andrew prepared himself for the sight of Riko’s bloodied form. Instead, the forest spat out a blonde woman’s severed head.

**Hour 3**

Allison’s head rolled into the street in front of them. Her jaw was spread open grotesquely, caught in the expression she held during her final breath. Her hair was bedraggled and filled with leaves from its trip through the woods. 

Neil scrambled from where he was climbing down into the sewers and knelt in front of her. His chest was heaving as though he’d just run several miles at full tilt. He reached a shaky palm to Allison’s face and closed her eyes for the last time. 

Andrew closed his eyes briefly, holding back the impulse to either set fire to the head immediately or rush into the forest after the monster who sent it rolling out of the park. 

“Who did this?” Neil’s accusing eyes were fixed on the street for lack of the correct target.

“Riko Moriyama. Ox,” Aaron said, eyes wide. He had lifted his right hand unconsciously to the hollow of his throat. He jerked his arm back down once he realized himself.

“And it’s just a warning, so we should get out of here,” Nicky added, feigning an aloof air while unrolling and re-rolling his long-sleeved button-down out of nervous habit. 

“Seth is still in there,” Andrew said, surprising himself along with his brother and cousin. Neil, on the other hand, flicked his bright eyes to Andrew. The set of his facial features took on the attitude of stone. 

“Is he skilled?” Neil asked, his unwavering gaze never straying from Andrew.

“He’s pretty powerful,” Andrew allowed, not meeting the Fox’s stare.

“Pretty powerful? He has the best defense enhancements out of everyone. All of his mods are military-grade,” Nicky countered.

“Can we save him, Dan?” Neil asked the voice in his ear, though it was clear he had already made up his mind. 

It seemed Dan was only speaking on Neil’s channel, because no response was forthcoming for Andrew or, he suspected, for his brother or cousin either. But, he guessed, whatever she was saying wasn’t what Neil wanted to hear judging by the outrage creeping into his face and the tension stiffening the line of his shoulders underneath the tactical uniform he wore. 

“What are you saying?” Neil sounded strained. “That we can’t save him? Or you won’t let us?”

A heavy sigh hummed into Andrew’s ears. He felt more than saw Nicky and Aaron turn still, listening. 

“Look, the odds are not good,” Dan’s voice rang out for all of them to hear. “You need to know this before you follow this idiot into that park.”

“I don’t want to hear the odds, Dan. Just give—” Neil cut himself off, “Yes or no?”

“Yes,” Dan said after a quiet moment. “But you have to do exactly as I say,” she added quickly.

“And we all know how hard that is for you Neil, so listen close,” another unknown voice chimed in. He sounded like he was barely containing his laughter.

“Don’t fucking provoke him,” a third voice muttered. 

Andrew turned to glare at Neil. _How many fucking are there?_

Neil stayed quiet.

Dan waited a few seconds before saying, “Okay, Matt says it has to be like this: Neil and Tiger take a left and move parallel with the park. Dragon and Snake keep moving east and take a left on Evers.”

“When both teams reach the center of the block, head into the park. The Zodiac War satellites have Ox at the north end of the park by the lake. You circle around and pen him in. You do not provoke him. You play dirty and the first opening you get, you strike.”

Twenty minutes later Andrew stood in the clearing that opened up to a lake in the middle of the park. It was more like a large pond. The area around it was paved up until the water’s edge. Trees and benches lined the perimeter intermittently, but they were only inky smudges in the darkness.

A figure moved in the distance, causing the hairs on the back of Andrew’s neck to prickle. He stepped in front of Aaron compulsively. He could feel his brother’s eyes on him but didn’t turn to face his glare.

_“The plan was for either of us to survive,” Aaron had said while they walked up to the entrance of the park._

_“Yeah,” Andrew had agreed._

_Aaron then huffed in frustration, “Then why are you acting as if it will be me?”_

_“It has to be you,” Andrew had said, looking at the shadows they cast in the orange lamplight. Their silhouettes spun, fading in and out as they passed under the street lights. Their identical shapes and patterns flowing in and out of each other, sometimes appearing as one, made Andrew’s head murky. They had agreed that it didn’t matter who survived. It just had to be one of them. Not Nicky. He had refused to… to do what needed to be done._

_Andrew refused to think of his cousin as weak. It would be too much of an insult after having basically raised the twins since their parents bailed. But. Andrew knew he himself was not strong enough either._

_Quiet, calculating Aaron was the best equipped. Their best chance._

_Aaron had only shaken his head in clear disapproval at Andrew’s seeming stubbornness. His weakness._ Those who will not fight for their lives do not deserve to live.

  
  


When it came down to it, Andrew and Aaron watched as Riko taunted Neil. Dan told them to remain back, remain hidden. It didn’t feel right to stand back. A wave of swimming nausea urged Andrew to act. 

Aaron’s hand was on his arm before Andrew had even decided to move. He glanced at his brother, who was watching him. Their eyes met and Aaron released Andrew’s arm.

Riko had Allison’s body draped over his shoulder like a sack. His suit jacket had been discarded somewhere along the way so he stood in just his bloodied white dress shirt and slacks. His jet black hair was in complete disarray. Blood streaked his face, his throat, and his forearms where his sleeves were rolled up. 

For a moment it seemed like Neil would have launched himself at the Ox, teeth bared. His whole body was shaking with emotion, visible even at this distance. 

Riko’s entire attention was pinned on Neil until an abrupt, agonized yell emitted from the tree-line near Aaron and Andrew’s position. Aaron whipped his eyes to stare futilely into the darkness. When Andrew glanced back at Neil and Riko, the two men were gone. Allison’s body lay lifelessly on the pavement at the water’s edge.

“Take him,” Neil’s voice suddenly growled next to Andrew’s ear. He swung around to face the mutant, flames curling up his throat. Neil did not flinch. Instead, he thrust Seth’s listless body into Andrew’s chest and dashed in the direction he must have come from.

“Please,” Seth gasped, “I want to see her.” Andrew ignored him.

“Dan, do you have eyes on Tiger?” Andrew pitched his voice low, addressing Dan. 

“He’s with Neil,” Dan said quietly.

“And?” Andrew shifted Seth around so that his weight was resting almost fully on his shoulders. 

“I- I don’t think you—” Dan stuttered out, sounding pained. Andrew gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, no doubt only hanging onto his calm because of Dan.

“Let me talk to him,” Andrew said. He nearly shouted the Fox’s name when she remained silent, “Just patch me through.”

For a moment he thought she hadn’t heard again then a sound like static rang in his ear. 

“‘Drew?” Nicky’s voice was barely audible. Andrew felt the frayed edges of panic brush his nerves. He shifted on his feet, barely noticing Seth’s weight anymore.

“Nick, where are you?” 

“I’m- my foot, it’s caught in a trap. He’s going to come after me once he’s finished with that Fox.” Nicky took a shuddering breath.

“Just stay put—”

It was then that Andrew realized that Aaron was nowhere to be seen. A quick look around and he realized that his brother was knelt over Allison, a dim white smudge leaning over her body in the distance. 

“Hold on Nicky, I’m coming for you,” Andrew said.

Andrew shifted to throw Seth’s arm over his shoulders and hobbled over to Aaron carrying most of the other man’s weight. He was wounded in a dozen places; Andrew could feel the warm, slickness of the blood sliding against his clothes. He focused very hard on making it to Aaron.

A wild yell called from within the trees again and Andrew knew it was Nicky when it echoed in his ear. He closed his eyes as he knelt both himself and Seth next to Allison. Seth fell forward, pressing his forehead into her stomach and screamed.

It was a stomach-churning noise. Andrew never wanted to hear it again. 

“Nicky?” Andrew called

Riko burst out of the forest, flying towards the ground with his heels over his head. Neil charged out after him, a wicked grin on his face and a knife in his hand. Riko skidded to the ground about fifty feet away and lay, stunned, for a moment. 

“What happened?” Aaron asked, eyes wide.

Andrew shook his head, eyes elsewhere as he tried to gauge the distance to the treeline.

Andrew watched Neil approach Riko, moving almost faster than Andrew could trace, before turning to scan for the best route. His heart hammered in his throat. _Adrenaline not fear_ , Andrew thought. 

A hand grasped at the collar of his shirt, throwing him off balance. He panicked, feeling molten bile rise up in the back of his mouth, it burned to swallow it back. He caught himself with a hand just to the side of Allison’s body and turned, wide-eyed, to see Seth wheezing. 

He barely heard it when Dan called out for Aaron to help Neil. He could hear Nicky struggling with something, grunting in pain, through the earpiece.

Seth’s bloody hand was still twisted in the front of his shirt as he used it to lever himself upright. When he failed to do that, Seth resorted to dragging Andrew’s face down to his level so that he could look him in the eye.

Andrew could see the dark blots of blood in his teeth when Seth said, “You bring her back.” The fist in his shirt trembled with the effort. 

Andrew said nothing, still bracing himself so he wouldn’t fall. For a dying man, Seth’s grip was strong. He needed to get out of here. _I need to get—_

“I know.” Seth spat, jerking his clenched fist to get Andrew’s attention. He searched Andrew’s eyes angrily. “I know what you and your brother are planning.”

Silence. 

“You bring her back,” he choked out, hand loosening his grip involuntarily. “Please, save her.”

Seth fell back to the ground. Andrew stood from where he had been kneeling, hands trembling. The other man still faced Allison’s body, but his eyes were closed. He took Allison’s hand and let out a few rattling breaths until he was as still as her. 

“Andrew,” Nicky said, sounding panicked, “Andrew, it’s Riko.”

Andrew turned his attention back to the trees again, sprinting forward without any other thought. A dark shape moved in his peripheral vision and Andrew stopped as though he had hit a wall, falling backward. He looked up to find Neil standing over him, chest heaving.

  
  


**Hour 4**

“There is nothing you can do,” Neil panted, trying to catch his breath. “As soon as Riko saw that Tiger was injured, he—”

“Nicky,” Aaron corrected, as he helped Andrew up, “His name is Nicky. He is our _family._ ” Neil flinched at the last word oddly, cautious, as though it would cut him. 

Andrew glanced at his brother, barely masking his surprise at the blatant show of sentimentality. Nicky wasn’t saying much of anything now. He was barely breathing, but he managed to rasp in Andrew’s ear, “Just get out.”

He made to move in his cousin’s direction but Neil caught him by the arm with a steel grip.

“A promise is binding,” Andrew said, causing Aaron to shoot him an odd look. Andrew tapped his earpiece meaningfully and Aaron nodded in understanding. Neil looked away, quietly removing his earpiece. 

“I got my leg out of the trap,” Nicky said, ignoring Andrew. “I’m going to lead him away from you. You just get out, okay?”

Andrew shook his head, contemplating burning Neil alive. 

“I will burn him,” Andrew growled in German. “Or you will die.”

“It's hard to scare a person who thinks he will benefit from dying,” Nicky replied.

Both Aaron and Neil were holding Andrew back now. They yelled at him to let it go, that they needed to get out of here. To let Nicky sacrifice himself. 

“Don’t do this,” Andrew growled in English now, twisting against the restraining arms. He spat small flames at the feet of the Fox and his brother. They jerked in surprise but didn’t let Andrew go. There was a sudden pinch in his neck and his vision went black, though the sound of Nicky’s pained breathing remained at the edges of consciousness. 

\--

They were at the bottom of the man-hole nearest the park exit. Andrew was slumped against the wall, trying to force his way through the heaviness of the drugs. Aaron and Neil were crouched at the edge of the sewer’s stream of ick, discussing something in quiet tones.

Once Riko had killed Nicky he took off, sensing he was outnumbered. Lamplight filtered in from above, dim, but enough for Andrew to observe his brother’s bleeding heart. Sentimentality was like an odd shadow passing over Aaron’s face, casting what were normally cold, sharp features into jagged relief. 

Andrew could barely make anything out except: “He raised us…” and “Andrew will never…”

Neil looked down at his feet, nodding at whatever else Aaron was saying. 

Aaron glanced at Andrew then and rose to his feet. He had a hand in his pocket. Andrew watched him warily. 

“Here,” Aaron said, voice blurry in Andrew’s ears like he was listening from underwater. Aaron held out his palm and in it were three pills, two round and one oval.

“I don’t fucking want ‘em,” Andrew slurred, turning his head away to make his refusal clear.

“At least take the migraine meds,” Aaron said softly, “Neil said that the sedative he gave you can trigger them.”

Andrew held out his hand then and Aaron pressed the pills into his palm. Andrew swallowed one pill and threw the rest into the sewer water. 

“Okay, guys,” Dan’s voice hummed, “It’s time to get going.”

They followed her instructions, making their way in the wet darkness until they found the right exit. Neil led them silently, paying attention to Dan’s precise instructions. Andrew thought about lighting up the place, but he didn’t know what was in these waters, and he had no way to sustain the flames. So they muddled along in the darkness for what felt like forever but it must have only been a half-hour.

Finally, Neil turned and began climbing the nearest steel ladder. They climbed out into a bank vault that had been commandeered by mutants.

“Nice to meet you, at last,” a familiar voice said behind them. When Andrew turned he was met with the sight of a young woman with dark skin and a short-cropped haircut that curled around her ears. “I’m Dan,” she said. 

Andrew nodded but otherwise didn’t say anything.

“I’m Aaron,” Aaron said from behind Andrew.

Dan smiled at both of them, the grim curl of her lips fleeting. A man, much taller than any of them, stepped into the vault proper carrying a clipboard.

“I’m Matt,” said the tall man, “but more importantly, is it true you breathe flames?” Matt’s eyes were wide with wonder and Andrew was overcome with the memory of a house on fire.

Matt didn’t wait for him to respond before turning to Aaron and saying, “And you fly? I mean what the hell? Not even the facilities at Palmetto State could replicate those abilities.” He talked a mile a minute not caring about the one-sided nature of this conversation.

Dan held up her hand to quiet Matt’s chatter, a fond warmth overtaking her eyes in a flicker before it was gone. 

Neil had moved past their small gathering at the mouth of the sewer into the bank. He was talking in hushed tones to a woman with white-blonde hair, the tips of which were faintly pink. She too had amber eyes. In fact, they all did, glinting in the fluorescent lights. There were computers and wires everywhere. Not to mention weapons ranging from automatic rifles to samurai swords. _This is what will take down the Zodiac War?_

Andrew moved further into the bank, exiting the cage-like doors of the vault, satisfied that Aaron was in no danger from either Dan or Matt. He felt Dan watch him go, though.

Neil saw him glancing around at the empty teller desks and scattered satellite equipment and said, “It’s the best we could do under the circumstances.”

Andrew wasn’t going to say anything, but, he couldn’t resist: “I’m just surprised to see the Butcher’s son here.” He toed the cracked marble floors with his dirty boot, purposefully avoiding that fiery amber gaze. In the better light of the bank, he could see that Neil’s hair was like fire— which was at odds with the specks of ice blue in his amber irises. Presumably, it was his natural eye-color, a tiny shard of truth in a sea of unknowns. 

Dan stepped into the room then, sensing the rising tension. Her voice was soothing when she said, “He’s not that person anymore.”

“I was never his son,” Neil said, voice quiet, eyes on the small piece of circuitry he was working with.

Aaron appeared beside him. Andrew suddenly felt Nicky’s absence acutely, imagining what he’d say if he were here. He’d probably cuff him on the head just for good measure. _The only way back now is forward._

“You’re not going to help us,” Dan voiced what Andrew didn’t say.

“You’re not supposed to be able to read minds,” Andrew replied.

“I can’t,” Dan said, calmly, “But I know what—who—you just lost.” She looked genuinely sympathetic. 

Andrew only hummed, turning to Aaron to gauge his response. His expression gave Andrew the impression of stone, like the cold, hard, marble floors beneath their feet. 

He was about to respond when an explosion burst the bank’s front doors wide open. 

Duodecuple marched into the room, waving his hand gallantly to clear the dust and smoke from the air. Not a single speck landed on the perfect cut of his suit. 

“It seems you aren’t the only ones who get to break the rules,” Duodecuple smiled benevolently. The sight of his teeth set Andrew on edge. He felt the group tense around him, prepared for a fight.

“Andrew, Aaron, you may leave,” said the Zodiac War announcer, lifting the automatic rifle to take aim at their small group. “You may leave or die, I mean.”

“Save him,” Neil shouted at Andrew, eyes wide, pressing something into Andrew’s hand before Duodecuple opened fire on the Foxes.

Andrew barely had time to get a hand on the back of Aaron’s head and duck them both beneath the line of fire. He ran them back into the vault and all but shoved his brother back down into the sewers.

**Hour 5**

They ran until they realized they were lost then walked in silence. Aaron kept stopping to listen before shaking his head and falling in line behind Andrew in the narrow, dark space. They continued quietly, Aaron grumbling every now and then.

Finally: “We just left them behind.”

“They were never going to put an end to the Zodiac Wars,” Andrew said.

Aaron sighed angrily, “That’s not the point.” He sounded tired more than anything.

“Then what is the point, Aaron?” Andrew rounded on his brother, glaring unhappily. An unknown sensation like his heart might burst filled his chest. “The moment Nicky died, the mutants ceased to be an option. Do you get that? Nick’s dead! Nothing short of a fucking miracle is going to bring him back.” Andrew’s chest heaved as he sucked in his breaths harshly as though he had just run a mile.

“I know,” Aaron said, instantly cowed. Andrew regretted raising his voice but Aaron wouldn’t have listened otherwise. “They did help us though.”

Andrew raised an eyebrow in a question.

Aaron held out his palm and a tiny screen blinked to life in the darkness. A little hourglass appeared, turning over every other second as the system booted up. 

Within a few moments, the screen flashed and revealed a map of Baltimore with four red, blinking pinpoints. 

“Matt was explaining that this showed the positions of the remaining four Zodiac War participants,” Aaron explained.

“So, me, you, Riko, and…?” Andrew trailed off wondering at the fourth blinking point on the map.

“Sheep, or David Wymack, he is- was- one of the Foxes’ correspondents,” said Aaron, “His son…” He went on but Andrew ignored him, instead, thinking about the best way they could go about this.

“-and you’re not even listening, are you?” Aaron asked, clearly unimpressed and annoyed. 

“Just thinking,” Andrew said offhandedly, “How are we going to kill him? Heard he’s a tricky bastard. That’s how he won his first Zodiac War.”

Aaron swallowed, realizing that they were back to square one, plan A, backed up against a proverbial wall. They had been traveling in a group until now. There had been safety in numbers. It was easier to pretend that they weren’t… 

Andrew’s statement seemed to return Aaron to a focused state of mind. His eyes turned blank, calculating.

“We don’t have to, Riko will do that for us,” he said with certainty. “It’ll be a waiting game for us.”

Andrew nodded in agreement.

**Hour 6**

At the top of the capital building, Andrew and Aaron perched looking down on Sheep and Ox locked in battle. Riko hadn’t noticed them, or if he had he gave no indication of it. 

Andrew unfolded the brittle paper that Neil had shoved in his hand before they departed the massacre scene. 

An image of two young boys stared up at him. The shorter of the two had auburn hair and bright blue eyes, like ice. The other kid had light brown hair and fear in his watery blue eyes. He was clinging to the younger, boyish Neil in a poor imitation of a pose for the camera. They both appeared worse for wear, bruises, and cuts littered their arms and legs. They were barefoot. Andrew couldn’t make out their surroundings but for a dirty drain in the corner. 

He refolded the paper, unsure what to make of it and replaced it in his jacket. Neil’s voice rang in his ears accompanied by the ring of bullets singing through the air. _Save him_.

An image of two bloodied bodies rose in his mind unbidden. One of them didn’t have a head.

_Save her._

The wind on the top of the building was brisk, moving the low-lying clouds across the sky quickly. Aaron watched the fight below keenly, examining Riko’s every move carefully. The lithe, powerful body worked like a weapon, a sword and the hands of a seasoned master at the same time. 

One of his sleeves was torn and one of his pants was slit at the knee. He was bleeding. 

Andrew turned away as Riko got the upper hand and slit Sheep’s throat. Andrew felt his body thud to the ground and squeezed his eyes shut. When he finally turned back Riko was standing over Sheep. He had the man’s heart in the palm of his hand, blood running down his arm in a steady stream. He was looking right at Andrew. 

Riko launched himself in the direction of the capitol building. Aaron dropped Andrew off at ground-level, retreating to keep an eye on things from above. 

Andrew braced himself for Ox’s first attack, knives in hand.

Ox made for a frontal assault, landing his foot square in Andrew’s chest knocking the wind out of him. He held his ground, switching his grip on the knife in his left hand while ducking a punch. He came back up swinging his knife in a left hook and catching Riko in the stomach. 

Nothing seemed to phase Ox. Though he was bleeding, he showed no sign of stopping or even tiring. 

They fought until Ox had Andrew’s back up against a nearby building, breathing harshly. Riko slid Andrew’s own knife against Andrew’s throat, his grin like acid. Andrew closed his eyes, waiting for the sharp bite of the blade, but it never came. 

Instead, Riko’s weight fell away from Andrew’s shoulders and chest and Andrew had to open his eyes. Aaron had Riko in a headlock, legs wrapped around the other man’s torso. Riko dropped Andrew’s knife and thrashed around, trying to dislodge Aaron. 

“Aaron!” Andrew shouted. He threw his remaining knife and lodged it in Riko’s chest. Ox didn’t flinch, just removed the knife and stabbed Aaron in the gut. His brother didn’t scream but held onto Riko tighter.

Aaron did scream when Riko removed the blade and struck again, twisting it this time. Andrew ran forward, not caring if Riko killed him, suddenly. Aaron slumped to the ground.

Andrew shoved Riko away from his brother. Riko stumbled back, still off-balance from the sudden absence of Aaron’s weight. He glanced at his brother who had curled in on himself before turning to launch himself at Riko. But, when he turned, Riko had already recovered and was moving to attack again. 

Dragon sucked in a huge breath, feeling the flames begin in his stomach and curl up his throat. Just when Riko was about to connect his fist with Andrew’s ribs, Andrew released the flames in one large swell. They rose, crested, and washed over Ox, turning blue for a split second before returning to their usual amber color. 

Riko’s body jerked and stumbled as it burned. He fell to his knees next to Aaron and Andrew, then crumbled away. 

Andrew braced himself as phantom flames licked his skin. He clenched his teeth and shut his eyes as his body was enveloped in searing heat. He was normally protected from the heat of his own flames and he was shocked by the agony. Andrew blacked out momentarily until finally the raging fire eating at his bone marrow faded into a light buzz. 

As the fire died, Andrew knelt over Aaron. He turned his twin onto his back to examine the damage. There was a bright red blossom of blood on the white shirt he wore under his jacket. He groaned as Andrew prodded the wound.

“Aaron,” Andrew said, not of his own volition, hands trembling as he desperately tried to stop the bleeding. 

“Mmhm,” Aaron turned and spat up blood on the pavement. “Andrew.”

“Fuck.” Andrew panicked. He never thought he’d miss Dan’s ability to temper his emotions. 

Aaron lifted the blade covered in his own blood and pressed it flat against Andrew’s hands where he had them pressed against the wound. 

“You,” Aaron rasped, “It’s you.”

“I can’t,” Andrew said immediately, continuing to apply pressure to Aaron’s bleeding abdomen.

“Even if you let me bleed out, my healing factor won’t let me die for a few hours. Even then, I won’t make it back to the ballroom like this,” Aaron said. 

“It wasn’t supposed to be me,” Andrew growled. He could feel Aaron’s pulse under his hands. _He’s still alive._ He could hear Aaron’s labored breathing. He could see his brother’s eyes flutter open and shut. Andrew couldn’t comprehend it. _He’s still alive. I don’t want to do this._

“Hurry up,” Aaron switched tact. “Just get it over with.”

Andrew was silent, unable to meet his twin’s eyes. The flames which had turned Riko to ash were dying a slow death. Andrew’s eyes pricked hotly and his hands began to shake.

“I stopped you,” Aaron said.

Andrew didn’t understand.

“I stopped you from saving Nicky. It’s my fault he’s dead,” Aaron went on. 

“Shut up,” Andrew said but to no effect because he was still unable to lift his eyes.

“Keep your promise,” Aaron slurred.

_“Do you promise?” Aaron had asked, “do you promise they won’t split us up?”_

_Aaron was about ten years old. It was around the time that they still kept all they owned in black trash bags. They hadn’t met Nicky yet and they were being tossed from house to house, the heirs to the defunct twin houses of the Dragon and Snake. The power in their family was drained by the last Zodiac War, along with their money and any sense of responsibility for raising its successors._

_“Let’s make a deal,” Andrew had said. It wasn’t his first and it wouldn’t be his last._

_Aaron nodded vigorously in agreement. A deal would make it tangible, make it real, unbreakable. He stuck his hand out to Andrew in solemn silence._

_Andrew grasped his brother’s hand and shook. “Nothing will hurt us as long as we stay together.” A double edged promise. Nothing would hurt them while they stood together. What would hurt most was if they were ever pulled apart._

The flat of the blade was cool on the back of Andrew’s hand, rapidly heating against Andrew’s too hot skin. Aaron gently pried Andrew’s hands from his side, shifting his grip on the knife. Aaron positioned it so the tip of the blade hovered over his heart.

“This is as far as I can go,” Aaron murmured, “you have to help me.” 

Andrew shook his head, hands trembling and dripping with his brother’s blood. Aaron took his hand and guided it to the blade, pressing down until the tip made an indent on his chest.

“Please,” someone said, Andrew couldn’t tell if it was him or Aaron. He finally dragged his eyes up to meet his brother’s— Aaron was smiling that dopey smile of the nearly deceased.

“I’ll be alright,” Aaron assured Andrew, pressing Andrew’s hand, and the blade, against his chest. 

Andrew kept his eyes open wide, locked with his brother’s and pushed the blade into his heart through a gap in his ribcage. Andrew felt his brother’s last heartbeat beneath his fingers. Felt the blade as if it was in his own chest and it was the same as if he had taken his own life. He held on long after Aaron let go, suddenly realizing that the awful noise building in volume around him was his own jagged yell. 

**Hour 7**

Someone had put out the fire in the banquet hall and removed the bodies of Riko’s first victims. The tables were righted, cleaned and emptied. 

Andrew approached the spot where he had stood only hours before and watched the flames dancing in the sconces. Something exploded outside and he could feel the aftershocks in the pearly marble floors. They vibrated with the subsonic aftermath making the designs shift and blur like a million falling stars.

“Andrew?” Dan’s voice filled his head.

Her voice, the explosion, Duodecuple entering the ballroom behind him— everything was coming from underwater. He couldn’t even be surprised.

“Andrew, we failed,” Dan said with barely contained fear. It sounded like laughter, a song from behind closed doors. 

“No shit,” he heard himself say. Duodecuple circled Andrew, coming to face him grinning with all his teeth.

“So you’re the winner,” the old man said. “Have a seat.”

Andrew did.

Duodecuple took the seat opposite him across one of the circular tables. The other man crossed one leg over the other, leaning back to get comfortable.

“So, tell me, how did you do it?”

Andrew hesitated, waiting for the words to make sense. Another explosion sounded in the distance, distracting him.

“Can you hear that?” Dan asked. “That’s us, Neil and I are the only ones left. They’re attacking us. Did you win?”

Dan’s voice was abruptly clear as an old church bell and twice as loud.

“No,” Andrew said.

“No?” Duodecuple’s voice took on an odd edge, like he was nervous, or maybe just excited at the prospect of killing Andrew. If Andrew did not answer the man’s question this would have all been for nothing. 

“I killed my brother, that’s how I won,” Andrew said then. _And that’s not really winning._ He ignored Dan’s shocked noises. “I believe you owe me a wish.”

Duodecuple raised his eyebrows, then sighed— disappointed. “That I do.”

Andrew reached into his pocket and withdrew an envelope, sliding it across to the Zodiac War announcer. It was stained with Aaron’s blood and when Andrew’s fingertips were about to leave it he had an awful sensation like falling from a great height. In the envelope was a message, in Aaron’s handwriting, dictating the carefully worded wish— 

Duodecuple and Andrew startled when the bodies of two assassins fell from the rafters, dead. A man appeared behind them silently, a gun in his hand.

“So it’s you?” a tall young man with watery blue eyes asked, looking at Andrew who was overcome with the worst feeling of deja vu. 

“Mr. Moriyama? What-” Duodecuple began to rise to his feet.

“My name is Kevin _Day_ ,” Kevin said, voice ice-cold, “Warrior of the Rat. Now, grant this man’s wish or die.”

Andrew stood, looking at Kevin who was a far cry from the boy in the photograph. He had to blink several times to rid himself of the afterimage of the boy superimposed over the man. Kevin Day was a sketch of jagged lines, bold where the boy was weak. 

He didn’t appear to need any saving at all. 

Duodecuple nodded frantically and everything went black. Even the sound of Dan’s voice in his ear fully faded. 

**Hour…?**

“Andrew,” Aaron said with a tone that indicated it wasn’t the first time he had called his name. They were in a car; the interior was dark and clean. The A/C dials and radio glowed dimly. The windows were tinted dark but were made even darker by the lack of sun outside. They were speeding down a highway, Andrew was driving, and Aaron was in the passenger seat. 

“What?” Andrew found himself asking, trying to get his bearings. He felt… He felt… 

“What do you want to eat?” Aaron repeated his question gracefully. 

“Um,” Andrew said intelligently, “what the fuck,” he muttered mostly to himself. 

“Language,” came Nicky’s groggy voice from the backseat. “Are we there yet?”

Andrew almost slammed on the breaks in the middle of the highway at 90 miles per hour. 

“Well, if Andrew would make up his mind about food, we’d be there faster,” Aaron griped, “C’mon you’re the pickiest eater.”

“So?” Andrew found himself saying. He gripped the wheel, heart hammering to high hell. _What the hell?_

“So? That means you have to pick. Kevin’ll be pissed if we don’t show up with something,” Aaron replied. Easy as breathing. 

“You okay?” Nicky asked suddenly.

_No_ , Andrew thought, then, _wait, why am I not okay?_

“Bee said changing the prescription might make you foggy, remember?” Aaron prompted, putting down his phone then and paying full attention to Andrew. _Did I say that out loud?_

“Or he’s just yanking your chain so he can get out of choosing,” Nicky said.

Aaron rolled his eyes returning to his phone. Andrew could tell he was basing his reaction on what he saw and not on what Nicky said. Andrew really was okay. 

He pulled off the highway and turned into a McDonald’s. Aaron and Nicky both groaned. And everything was fine.

His name was Andrew Minyard. The date was August 20th, 2009. He was with his brother Aaron and his cousin Nicky. They were headed to their friend Kevin’s place for a team meeting. They just got back from spring break in Columbia. 

\--

Everything was fine until they got to Kevin’s house and Andrew was met with watery blue eyes. Kevin had answered the door, his face a mixture of emotions, most of which were confusion and plain bewilderment. When he laid eyes on Andrew his expression turned to one of instant comprehension. 

In the doorway of an apartment two miles from Palmetto State University and 528 miles from Baltimore, Kevin day said, “Andrew, your wish came true.”  
  



End file.
